


Legere

by Chandanista



Series: Hibernis Milite [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:49:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24305413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chandanista/pseuds/Chandanista
Summary: In a follow up to the previous work, Harry has questions, Petunia continues enjoying the illusion he isn't there and Dobby arrives with a letter.
Series: Hibernis Milite [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1526771
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Legere

Harry knew now that Draco wouldn’t be back at the neighborhood playpark until the following Monday, but that was fine. His mind whirled with all the possibilities of the world he’d been introduced to the day before. He needed to organize his thoughts before he saw Draco again. If it was real, if there was magic in the world, he wanted to know everything. But, if it wasn’t real, if Draco and his uncle were pulling his leg…Harry didn’t think he could bear that. 

So, he wouldn’t.

He desperately wanted magic to be real so he would believe it was. Strange things happened all the time, after all. His teacher’s wig turning blue last February, for example. And the time his hair had grown out overnight. The spider under the stairs that sometimes danced for him, when he felt especially bored. Harry nodded to himself with satisfaction as he wiped down the last dish. Yes, magic was real, he felt it in his heart. But, he couldn’t let his aunt or-Lord forbid-his uncle find out. They called him a freak. They’d lock him up if he started talking about magic, he just knew it. 

“You about finished with the dishes, boy?” Aunt Petunia suddenly asked, appearing at his shoulder. Harry cringed and nodded rapidly. “Good. Take this and get out. I’ll be having some of the neighbors around for lunch and we don’t want any messy haired little freaks staring at us.”

Surprised, Harry took the brown bag his aunt had gestured at. He’d seen her packing it with some vegetables and a sandwich; he hadn’t dreamt it would be his. He didn’t generally get to take food when he left the house for the afternoon. She must really want him to stay away today. Well, he could certainly do that. 

“Yes, Aunt Petunia. You won’t see me until supper. Thank you very much for thinking of me. I appreciate your generousness.” Harry was babbling but he knew Aunt Petunia wouldn’t mind. She liked to be reminded of her kindness, and his over enthusiastic gratitude was nearly always welcome. Since he needed a favor, he was going to butter her up. “Might I take the grey brolly, Aunt Petunia? It’s raining and I know Dudley doesn’t much like that one.” 

“Fine then, but you’d best not break it. Umbrellas aren’t free. Now go on, then.”

Harry certainly didn’t need to be told twice. He stopped by his cupboard to put on Dudley’s old hoodie. Like the other hand me downs, it was too large; but as it was outerwear, this made it perfect in Harry’s opinion. He crammed his lunch bag into the front pocket, pushed his feet into trainers, and was out the door in a swift, near silent, departure.

Now, where to go? The park was out. And he’d wanted to research some of the questions he had—of course. The public library. He wondered briefly if Petunia would give him bus fare, then laughed to himself. Of course she wouldn’t. It was all right though, the library wasn’t that far away. At least he had a hood and brolly! Could he use magic to make a skateboard, he wondered? Or a flying motorcycle! How did magical people get around? Definitely something to add to his List of Draco Questions.

***  
Amy Thompson, children’s librarian, had a new favorite regular. 

This wasn’t uncommon. Her standards for favored patrons were quite low. So long as they were quiet and didn’t make a mess, she liked them. If they approached her politely and showed a willingness to learn, well, why wouldn’t she warm to this proof the future wouldn’t be completely terrible? 

So when this child—his small stature overemphasized in ridiculously baggy clothing—had approached with the most _earnest_ green eyes and politely asked for assistance in selecting magical fiction books and whether she perhaps had some scratch paper and a biro he might use to take notes, please, he’d forgotten to grab his bag that morning… Amy melted. All week he’d returned to the library daily, always greeting her before sitting at the well-lit corner table. He was reading through the list she’d recommended: _Matilda, Howl’s Moving Castle, The Sword in the Stone, The Fairy Rebel._ Every so often he’d bring a book back to her for shelving and thanked her for the recommendation. He’d withdraw from the books occasionally to scribble something on the discarded copy paper she’d provided. Sometimes he approached her desk and, apologetically, asked if she wouldn’t mind, please, explaining the meaning of a certain word or phrase…

Amy knew the siren call of fantasy worlds. Literary fiction had been her own escape as a child. One look told her this boy was a kindred soul. She knew she would give him any help he requested.

If Amy snuck him an occasional granola bar since “he’d been there for hours, and she had extra anyway,” well, that was her business. 

She was responsible for the hoovering, after all.  
***  
Harry was at the park, sat on the grass near some bushes, hair vibrating with excitement. He’d prepared his first questions on a sheet of notepaper in a half-used notebook Dudley had discarded. The more Harry read about magical worlds the more ideas and questions he had. On Sunday he’d transferred his queries to the notebook and thrown out the messy scratch notes from the library. He knew from experience that the more individual items in his cupboard, the more likely the Dursleys would find something deemed unacceptable and lock him away. One solitary notebook easily hid in his pillowcase, and as he was responsible for laundering his own bedding he felt fairly safe keeping it there.

But today was finally Monday. He would get to see Draco and learn more about magic. Maybe he would get to see some magic, and learn how to control it a little. If he could purposely do something to Dudley, the way Matilda had in her remarkably similar circumstance…well! That would be something!  
Harry jumped when he heard a slight pop in the bush. He turned and peered into it, gasping when he saw something peering back. It was like a little man, crossed with Mrs. Figg’s prized Oriental shorthair. 

“Mr. Harry Potter, Sir, Dobby has a letter from Master Draco.” A frail hand held out an fancy envelope.

“Th-thank you,” Harry stammered, “You’re--Dobby, then?”

Dobby beamed. “Yes, sir! Dobby will wait while Mr. Harry Potter reads. Dobby will take a note back to Master Draco!”

“Budge over, then. I’ll sit in the bushes with you. If my cousin or his mates come by and see me alone they might decide to bother us.” Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes, looking around for—perfect. He picked the bit of broken branch off the ground and slid it into the envelope, carefully ripping through one side and tipping out the thick paper within.  
_  
Dear Harry,  
Sorry I sent Dobby and couldn’t see you in person. Father was unhappy to learn I have been going to the muggle world. I cannot say I will miss it but I do think I will miss you. I am not just saying that because you are famous. I worry about you living with those muggles. I don’t think it’s right they lied like that. I also think the clothes you wear are awful. Maybe I won’t miss seeing you after all._

_(That was a joke. Even in stupid muggle clothes I would rather see you than write.)_

_Dobby can bring letters from you to me, just as he took you this letter. Dobby is a Malfoy house elf, I don’t think you have seen one before. They live on family magic so there would be no reason for one to be around a muggle house. He will wait for you to give him a note, so I know you received today’s letter. Since you don’t have an owl I have instructed Dobby that he will come to you if you say his name so you can write to me any time. You might have to wait if he is busy on something Father told him to do. Do not call Dobby if there are muggles around._

_I will end this letter here. Waiting for your reply.  
Draco  
_

Harry felt angry.

He’d just found someone who offered an escape from his horrible life, and his new comrade was gone? True, the poncey boy was out of his league socially; he hadn’t been sure if they really could have been friends, but he had hoped. He’d dreamed several times now of the world Draco had described, and when he woke after those dreams he had an aching, desperate feeling. 

The same feeling he had now, in fact, mixed with the anger. How dare Mr. Malfoy forbid Draco from visiting! Draco’s uncle had been there, it wasn’t like Draco was visiting without supervision. 

Dobby yelped. “Mr. Harry Potter sir! You must calm down! Please sir!”

The letter in Harry’s hands was smoking, singed around the edges. He dropped it and patted the sides until it had stopped smoking. He took a deep breath; the panic had snapped him out of his anger.

“Did…did I do that, Dobby? Did I make the fire?”

“Yes! You is a wizard, Mister Harry Potter.”

Harry grinned, and pulled his biro from his pocket. He turned to a fresh lined page in his notebook, dredging up memories of How To Write a Letter from classroom assignments. _Dear Draco…_

***  
_Dear Draco,  
How are you? I hope your dad wasn’t too angry. Is James really your uncle or do you just call him that? He doesn’t look like you is all. I am sad you can’t visit me anymore but I understand. Why anyone with a choice would even want to be here I don’t know.  
I am glad you sent Dobby with a letter. I have never gotten mail before and this was nice. Not as nice as football was though. Thank you for not just forgetting me. I know you say I’m famous but I don’t feel like it. I have questions I was going to ask you. They are the second page of this. If any of them are stupid I’m sorry. Blame my muggles.  
I don’t have an envelope so I am just folding it. I saw kids fold notes like this in class but this is the first I have done it.  
From  
Harry  
_

Draco had thought the envelope fold brilliant, actually, and planned to tell Harry so. He flipped to the second lined page and read through the questions quickly. “World changing wardrobes…English speaking pixies…Of _course_ Merlin was real…Seriously? Muggle rubbish tales…” 

Continuing to mumble he sat at his desk, pulled fresh parchment, and began outlining a reply.

He had a long way to go before Potter would be a proper asset. He was just glad the boy had been found before he could fall in with the wrong sort of magical.

**Author's Note:**

> Legere means "to read" in Latin.
> 
> I pulled my childhood journal for child-writing reference. When I was 9 I was a very stilted writer who was very focused on "me" and not "how others feel". What an uncomfortable read! I didn't think anyone would want to plough through the spelling mistakes in a child's letter so let's pretend both boys are spelling bee champs. 
> 
> Two updates in a week? I just couldn't let it sit where it was, Harry needed answers and I needed to give them to the little cinnamon roll.


End file.
